AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D review: obliterating the competition

We see out our regular game benchmark suite with two sneaky-beaky titles that are at their best when things are going wrong: Far Cry 6 and Hitman World of Assassination. Far Cry is famously dependent on single-core speeds, while Hitman's "Best" simulation quality setting makes it a stern test in its own right.

In the next two pages, we'll have a quick look at the 9800X3D in terms of power efficiency and the effect of faster RAM, but for now let's close things out in style.

Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 loves single-core grunt and has historically done well with 3D V-Cache packages, and the 9800X3D is no exception. It manages to deliver a 19 margin over the 7800X3D while being 42 percent faster than the 14900K.

Hitman World of Assassination

Hitman World of Assassination, better known as Hitman 3 to its friends, includes a great built-in benchmark that shows a Dartmoor mansion being reduced to rubble by an invisible hand. The best simulation quality here is critical in producing a hard CPU test, as is the choice of DLSS performance to minimise GPU load. This title shows a pleasant 13 lead for the 9800X3D over the 7800XD, or around 36 percent if you're upgrading from the 5800X3D. Intel CPUs tend to do OK here, but there's still a 20 percent advantage for the 9800X3D over the 14900K in this title.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D analysis

• Introduction, test rig and content creation benchmarks
• Gaming benchmarks: Dragon's Dogma 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Starfield
• Gaming benchmarks: Flight Simulator 2020, F1 24, Forza Horizon 5
• Gaming benchmarks: Counter-Strike 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Crysis 3 Remastered
• Gaming benchmarks: Far Cry 6, Hitman World of Assassination [this page]
• Power analysis: Counter-Strike 2, Far Cry 6, Forza Horizon 5
• RAM gaming benchmarks: Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry 6, Flight Sim 2020
• AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D: the Digital Foundry verdict